Biodegradable Fabrics a Hit at Conference

A full-fledged fashion show, complete with professional models and a runway, nabbed the attention of the scientific community in Toronto over the summer. Attendees at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing were treated to a fashion display that included garments from top designers, including Halston, Oscar de la Renta and Stephen Burrows. The occasion for a fashion runway at a technical conference was to show off the biodegradable Ingeo fabric, which is spun from polylactide, a biopolymer made from dextrose corn sugar.

The fashion show highlighted the diversity of bio-based products made with industrial biotechnology currently available to customers, including plastics, food ingredients and fuels. Brent Erickson, EVP of the biotechnology industry's Industrial Environmental Section, opened the fashion show saying, "From the streets to the runway, industrial biotechnology is beginning to transform the fashion industry." He went on to note, "We talk a lot about biofuels, but industrial biotechnology is really about much more than that."

Models show off clothing made with biodegradable fabrics at the recent World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing

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